


She Loved The Hero

by chelztoddbrooke



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Episode: s03e06 And the Trial of the Triangle, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 13:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12344034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelztoddbrooke/pseuds/chelztoddbrooke
Summary: "A hero is just what you are, not who you are. I am with you because of who you are. Just Flynn."The aftermath of The Trial of the Triangle because I don't think Eve would just let Flynn get away with that show at the airport.





	She Loved The Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> While I have been an avid Librarians fan since the beginning, this is my first time writing fic for this fandom. I am very intrigued by Flynn and Eve's relationship. 
> 
> The title of this work is from the Randy Houser song "The Singer" and very near and dear friend of my wrote that beautiful piece of work and so many lines of it apply to Flynn and Eve that I couldn't resist. I wanted to add them to the piece somewhere but they felt clunky, so here are the lines that inspired this fic.
> 
> "She can count the times she stay up all night, scared to death and praying, wondering if he'd ever make it home."  
> "She loved the hero, even more than that, she loved the man without the mask, when no one was around."  
> "Trying to hold him was like trying to hold a flame. She was always just one of million screaming his name"  
> "She loved the poet, words straight from his heart, tear you apart, then start to make you fall right back in love."

Flynn watched as the three librarians talked over each other. It was like they were having a contest to see who could finish telling their stories first, despite the fact that no one was actually listening. Jenkins had called it an early night and Eve had wandered off some time ago. The only reason he hadn’t followed her was that he’d initiated this impromptu bonding session with the team. With the obstacle ahead, he realized it was time to solidify his relationships with his team members. He honestly wasn’t sure if he’d make it through without them. Actually, he wasn’t sure he’d make it through at all, but he certainly wouldn’t make it to the end without their help. And he was learning people were much more helpful when they felt valued. And he did value them, he just wasn’t very good at showing it. He was going to work on that though. From here on out. He took the last swallow from his beer and looked at the three again. They wouldn’t notice if he walked off and he had one more relationship he needed solidify, another person who needed to know their value. As he turned to leave he caught Cassandra’s eye. He winked at her and she nodded in return before jumping back into the conversation.

He found Eve at her desk, updating a ledger. He could see tension in her frame. While she had compartmentalized nicely as he made his promises and his gesture towards the team, he could tell she was not quite pleased with him. He could hardly blame her. Not only had she hit the nail on the head with what she said during his intervention that morning, he hadn’t made the rest of the day any easier. He bent down and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.

“Let’s go home,” he murmured against her skin. He wondered when her home became his home. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that he didn’t actually have a residence in Oregon. Since the library relocated, he’d spent most of his time running and when he wasn’t running he was trying to make this thing work with Eve. It seemed like the most natural progression. And it wasn’t like they actually lived together, he was rarely there. Well, except lately. Lately, they'd been rather domestic./p>

"Flynn," she sighed, wearily. "I don't think..." Eve shook her head. Her mind was all over the place. It had been a long day, in every sense. She was both physically and emotionally exhausted. He'd thrown her a few major curve balls and she was trying to get it right in her head. Her instincts...no habits...were telling her to push him away. To make him find somewhere else to stay while she mulled over his words, decisions, and the nagging feeling that he was still keeping something from her.

"Please,” he added when he noticed her hesitation. "I want to talk, but I don't want to do it here." She closed the ledger and dropped her pen in the clever coffee mug and makeshift utensil holder left over from when it had been his desk. She looked up at him, trying to read his expression. "Eve, I mean it. I want to talk," he implored and she could tell he meant it. His dark eyes went round and soft the way they did in those rare moments he would take off his librarian mask. She gave in, standing to gather her things. He met her at the annex door with her coat, holding it so she could easily slip it on.

The ride home was silent. Eve knew it would bother Flynn, but that wasn't really her goal. She was just too tired for small talk. She knew if she gave him an opening he would chatter the whole way home.

Flynn studied Eve as she drove. Her silence was weighty and it made him uncomfortable. It made him want to babble for no other reason than to fill the empty air with noise. He resisted though, knowing they both had a long day and this was her way of processing. So instead he took the opportunity to watch her, to get any kind of a read on her. However, she was not doing him any favors. Her walls were up and armed. With that, he at least knew she felt vulnerable and was trying to counteract it with self-preservation.

Flynn opened his mouth to speak as soon as they crossed the threshold. Before he could even get a word out, Eve's hand shot up and pinched his lips closed.

"Let me get ready for bed, then we can talk," she requested. He nodded dumbly, her fingers still attached to his mouth.

She beat him to the couch, but he let her use the shower first. They both needed to rinse away the grime of a day full of magical adventures. She was curled in the corner, her feet tucked underneath her and her hands wrapped around what he assumed was a cup of tea. She tilted her head towards the steaming mug on the coffee table, indicating it was for him. He grabbed it and brought it to his lips.

"So how mad are you?" He asked as he took a sip. "Oh, ow, hot!" he yelped, setting the mug back down. Eve rolled her eyes, almost affectionately.

"I'm not mad, Flynn. I'm tired," she replied. "This game is getting old."

"Game?" He asked, pressing his fingers to his burned lips.

"The Flynn knows best game," she provided. "You are brilliant, truly one of the greatest minds of our time and certainly the smartest person I've ever met, but that does not give you the right to make my decisions for me. Your solution may be the right one, but taking away my opportunity to come to that decision on my own, makes me feel invalid. Like you don't trust me. And that makes it hard to trust you,"

"You don't trust me?" He looked wounded. He’d trusted Eve from the first day he’d met her. He hated the thought that he hadn’t done enough to earn the same in return.

"Flynn, I trust you with my life. But I don't know if I can trust you with my heart. That's not the same," she sighed.

"Explain..."Flynn’s brow furrowed.

"Like I said, you always do what you think is best...to reach your goal. And your goals are more library oriented than relationship oriented. So that means you’re usually running away from me, either to find something or to take on the danger yourself. Which could leave me alone either way, temporarily or permanently. So yes, I can trust you save my life but I can't trust you not to break my heart."

"But you said you wanted a hero..." he whispered.

"No Flynn, you are a hero. You will always be a hero. I will always think that and that is an excellent quality for our job but in our relationship, not so much. I'm not with you to be the Grand Marshall of the Flynn Carsen parade. A hero is just what you are, not who you are. I am with you because of who you are. Just Flynn. The somewhat hapless, big hearted man with the warm brown eyes who only lets me close to him in the flash of a second when he allows his heart to lead instead of that big brain of his,” she reached out a finger to poke him in the forehead. He furrowed his brow and batted her hand away.

"Eve, you're my guardian. You know better than anyone that the job comes first. You even said it yourself, in the very beginning,” he said as some attempt to defend himself, but as soon as the words left his lips and her eyes narrowed, he knew he said the wrong thing.

"Then keep it that way, don't have an unbelievably personal conversation on the job in front of a whole airport full of Venezuelan tourists," Eve bit out, leaving her mug clattering against the surface of the coffee table as she stormed out of the room. Flynn winced as he heard the bedroom door slam. She may not have been mad when they started this conversation, but she was definitely mad now. Flynn groaned out loud. This was not at all how he wanted this conversation to go.

Eve sat on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. Her mind replayed their conversation from the airport, when what started out as a distraction technique turned into something very private and personal.

_“From the moment I laid eyes on you in that German steam tunnel, I’ve loved you. I love you more than anyone I’ve ever known, more than anything I’ve ever learned. I love you more than learning itself.”_

In a perfect world, at the perfect moment, it was all she ever wanted to hear from him. But in this situation, it felt like a smack in the face. He’d just finished telling her how inadequate she’d made him feel and he countered with something so open and honest. It felt like he was saying “you may think I’m a screw up, but I think the world of you”. It was like the words were pulled from him in a moment of desperation, an attempt to prove himself worthy. She really wasn’t sure who she was more angry with, him or herself. Maybe he was right. They shouldn’t have gotten personally involved to begin with. With a sigh, she pushed up from the bed. If she expected to get any sleep, she needed to wave the white flag.  

Flynn knew he’d been unfair at the airport. The conversation got away from him. He was feeling pretty raw from their “intervention” and it all just came pouring out of his mouth. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew in the middle of a mission was neither the time nor the place, but at that point it was too late. Then they continued to butt heads until he forced her off the airplane, in a manner of speaking. With what he’d learned about the Eye of Ra, it was imperative he make things right with her. He wasn’t sure how many more chances he would get.

“You think we can finish this, Librarian?” Eve’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. His head snapped in her direction. Despite her evident exhaustion, she was still breathtaking.

“No,” he started, bringing his hand up to nervously scratch at the back of his neck. “The librarian is unavailable, but Flynn is willing.”

Eve’s lips quirked into a small smile. At least she got part of her point across. She made her return to the couch. She took his face in both of her hands. “It is you,” she whispered, noticing the warmth in his expression.

“Mask off,” he confirmed, bringing his hand up to mimicked the removal of a proverbial mask. Eve smiled again and dropped her hands.

“Do you ever think we make life harder for ourselves than it needs to be?” she mused. “I mean look at us, both fiercely independent with jobs that depend on our ability to be objective and yet we are still trying to make this work. Maybe you were right when you said it was a bad idea to get involved in the first place,” she sighed.

“Eve, no!” Flynn gasped. “I didn’t mean that,” he fiercely shook his head.

“Then did you mean the rest of it?” her eyes narrowed again. If he told her everything he said at the airport was a lie, she was kicking him out of the apartment. The armistice was off.

“Of course I did, Eve. Listen, I’ll admit, I mean, we could both probably admit that our lives would be significantly easier if we weren’t together, but it’s too late for that. What I said at the airport was true. I love you, Eve. And I have since the moment we met,” he reached out and intertwined their hands, letting that sink in for a moment. He was always quick to love, but it had never been this this before. Everything in him was drawn to her. He felt a smile crawl across his face. “You know, right before I got my job at the library my mother told me ‘the things that make life worth living can't be thought in here’,” he tapped his temple. “they must be felt here.’" He added, bringing their linked hands to his heart. “And that’s you, Eve. You are what makes my life worth living. You told me I always make the decision that is best for me, and I think what is best for me is that I keep you in my life for as long as you’ll have me. As more than just my guardian. But like you said, I need to work on giving you the right to choose, so it’s up to you,” he finished, kissing her knuckles.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Eve sighed, resigned. She may not be able to voice her feelings in the way he had, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel them. She brought her free hand up to his cheek and placed a soft kiss to his lips. “But can you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” Flynn replied eagerly.

“Let’s actually have these kinds of conversations rather than waiting until our personal issues bleed into the rest of our lives and come spewing out at inopportune moments,” she suggested.

“I’ll try, I promise,” he said with a solemn nod. Eve arched an eyebrow.

“Earlier you promised you wouldn’t run, now this. That is a lot of promises for one day,” she pointed out.

“I told you things are going to be different and I meant it.” He captured her lips in another kiss. “Now can we go to bed, magical wormholes can be very exhausting,” he grinned, standing from the couch.

“By all means,” Eve allowed him to pull her to her feet. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened down there?” she asked.

“Someday,” he shrugged, tugging her towards the bedroom.  He wasn't about to tell her that use of the Eye of Ra required a human sacrifice, not today. Only when he knew there was no other way, was he going to let that information slip.

Eve could tell there was still something she wasn’t telling her, but she let it slide. They’d made enough progress for one day.

               


End file.
